The Qingjing Mosque is one of the
four major mosques along the coastal area of Southeast China. It is also called
the Shengyou Mosque or the Qilin Mosque. It is located in Quanzhou City, Fujian
Province.
The mosque has a stone carved with Arabic
annals that records that the mosque was established in 1009 during the Song
Dynasty (960-1279). In the following centuries, some famous Islamic celebrities
rebuilt it several times.
The mosque mainly consists of the Gate
Tower, the Main Hall, and the Mingshan Hall. The Gate Tower, which is made of
green granites, is connected with the Main Hall. The Wangyue Platform stands on
the top of the Gate Tower. A five-storeyed pagoda was built on the platform
during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), but was destroyed by earthquake later. The
Main Hall has two storeys. The wall of the hall is made of granites and is
embedded with two stones carved with the Alcoran. The Mingshan Hall is in the
north of the Main Hall and was built in 1609. Originally, the mosque was a good
example of Islamic architecture. However, it features the style of traditional
Chinese architecture after several
reconstructions.